Preserving northwestern culture in the Central Highlands

More than two decades ago, many Mong ethnic households from northern mountainous provinces such as Ha Giang, Lao Cai, Cao Bang, and Lai Chau migrated to the Dak R’mang area to start new lives. Along with aspirations for a better future, they brought with them traditional customs, cultural practices, and the distinctive features of highland markets in the Northwest.

Therefore, every Sunday morning, Dak R’mang market becomes bustling as people from nearby villages and communities gather for trade and social activities.

Covering more than 7,000 sq.m., the market has over 100 business households. Among the colourful brocade stalls, Mong woman Ly Thi Mai from Ta Dung commune is busy introducing her products to visitors. Her family moved to this land in 1998 and began trading at the market in 2020.

Her stall features traditional Mong costumes and accessories, including headscarves, leg wraps, shirts, skirts, and bead decorations.

According to Mai, every stitch requires patience and meticulousness, reflecting the diligence and perseverance of Mong women.

Besides farm produce and household items, the food area is always the busiest part of the market. In the cool rainy-season weather, smoke rising from steaming pots of “thang co” (horse meat stew) mingles with the aroma of traditional spices, creating a distinctive northwestern mountain atmosphere.

Alongside the stalls, vendors prepare food while inviting visitors to taste their dishes.

Ly Seo Cha, who has worked at the market for nearly 18 years, said the most important thing in making “thang co” is preserving its traditional Mong flavour.

“Many locals and visitors come here just to enjoy an authentic bowl of northwestern-style ‘thang co’. Therefore, I always follow the traditional cooking method without changing it, so that the unique culinary identity of our ethnic group can be upheld,” he said.

Besides “thang co”, other traditional foods such as men men (steamed corn flour), tofu pudding, “banh duc” (rice flour pudding), steamed sticky rice, Bac Ha corn wine and northwestern spices like “mac khen” (Zanthoxylum rhetsa) and “doi” (Michelia tonkinensis A. Chev.) seeds are also sold here, bringing the unique flavours of northern mountainous areas to the Central Highlands.

For visitors, the market offers a chance to experience a distinctive cultural space in the middle of the Central Highlands.

Le Thi Thuy, a visitor from southern Dong Nai city, said she was impressed by the colourful brocade stalls and traditional Mong dishes.

“I feel like I am visiting a miniature highland market. Local people are friendly, the food is attractive, and the brocade costumes are beautiful and rich in cultural identity,” she said.

For the Mong community, Dak R’mang is more than just a place for buying and selling things. After more than 20 years of settling in the Central Highlands, the weekend market has become a place where people preserve their long-standing cultural traditions, meet and communicate in their mother tongue, wear traditional costumes and enjoy the flavours of their hometowns in the Northwest.

From community market to local tourism magnet

Following the merger of Dak R’mang and Dak Som communes, Ta Dung commune now has 4,397 households with 23,944 residents, including 1,935 Mong households with 13,595 residents, making it home to the largest Mong community in Lam Dong province.

Alongside traditional cultural values maintained, local livelihoods have improved significantly. Making use of the Central Highlands’ favourable soil conditions, residents have developed key crops such as coffee, pepper, durian, and other fruit trees.

In recent years, high coffee and pepper prices have helped many households secure stable incomes, build better homes, buy new production equipment and give their children better education opportunities. Improved livelihoods have also made the market increasingly vibrant, turning it into a cultural and economic highlight in western Lam Dong.

Chairman of the Ta Dung People’s Committee Tran Nam Thuan said the commune has upgraded market infrastructure and reorganised spaces to facilitate trade.

He said local authorities consider Dak R’mang not only a place for trading but also a distinctive cultural space of the Mong community. Therefore, they are gradually linking the market with community-based tourism development, connecting it with local tours and routes to enhance its appeal.

Traditional values, including brocade weaving, cuisine, costumes, and community activities, will continue to be preserved and promoted, creating a foundation for sustainable tourism development, Thuan noted.

For the Mong people in Ta Dung, Dak R’mang is not merely a weekly rendezvous, but a space preserving memories of their northwestern hometowns and cultural identity in their new land./.